melons dying on the vine - Ask Extension
I have planted vines for small melons and they get plenty of flowers, and fruits start to form. When the fruits start to grow, they get to be about 1...
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melons dying on the vine #839246
Asked July 06, 2023, 10:06 AM EDT
I have planted vines for small melons and they get plenty of flowers, and fruits start to form. When the fruits start to grow, they get to be about 1/2 inch and then turn yellow and fall off. A few of the melons are growing to full size, but most do not. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. They are planted in a raised bed next to cucumbers and nastursiums.
Thanks for any insight you may have
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
Thank you for writing.
I need a picture of the vine, the damaged fruit, and a close up of any damaged stem or vine to be able to comment on this. Please submit them here or if you do not know how, send them to me in an email <personal data hidden>
I need a picture of the vine, the damaged fruit, and a close up of any damaged stem or vine to be able to comment on this. Please submit them here or if you do not know how, send them to me in an email <personal data hidden>
Below are a couple pics as requested. I included one of a melon that is healthy, and several the haven’t even dropped the flower yet (two that are dying and one that hasn’t died yet). The vines and leaves all appear very healthy. The planter is not deep so maybe that is the problem (maybe roots can’t get deep enough). I included a picture of the planter as well. It gets strong morning sun but only till about 1pm so maybe that could be an issue as well.
Thanks,
Michelle
Thank you for writing. The distribution of the disease seems to be on the lower leaves, more so than the upper ones. This suggests a fungal disease related to soil fungi splashing up to the leaves during overhead watering. I see highly affected leaves that are touching the ground in the bottom photo. This would be more common if you had grown melons in this same spot last year.
https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/cantaloupe/infos
My favorite for this is alternaria.
https://vegpath.plantpath.wisc.edu/diseases/cucurbit-alternaria-leaf-blight/
Tell me about how the plant is watered and if this site was used before for cantaloupe. In the meantime, using lysol dipped scissors, cut the yellowed or grayed leafs off right at the bottom of the leaf. Put some mulch under this plant to insulate it from the soil. There are no guarantees here.
https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/cantaloupe/infos
My favorite for this is alternaria.
https://vegpath.plantpath.wisc.edu/diseases/cucurbit-alternaria-leaf-blight/
Tell me about how the plant is watered and if this site was used before for cantaloupe. In the meantime, using lysol dipped scissors, cut the yellowed or grayed leafs off right at the bottom of the leaf. Put some mulch under this plant to insulate it from the soil. There are no guarantees here.
Thanks you for your help. I water these with a hose and try to not get the leaves but the water pressure is very high and it splashes up. I have purchased a new nozzle that should help with that. I will also trim off the affected leaves as you note. I did have cucumbers and melons in this space last year as you surmised. I will try to rotate things a little better next year.
Thanks again. Hopefully some of this helps with my plants recognizing that there are no guarantees, but learning is a benefit itself.
Michelle
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 6, 2023, at 9:53 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Perfect! Good luck.
